In late February of this year, I brought my vehicle into Kelly Cadillac for repairs from a front end collision accident. When I picked up my vehicle several weeks later, I was very pleased with the body repairs, but noticed my air conditioning system did not work. The mechanic took it back to the shop and charged it up and it worked fine. I also noticed a high pitched whistle coming from the front of the vehicle near the battery. The whistling noise had not been present prior to the collision, so I inquired of the mechanic the reason for this noise. I was told, "It's a small vacuum leak, and if it doesn't go away, bring you car back to the service department and we will check it out." He implied that I would be charged for this service visit, so I decided to contact my insurance company.in the interim, I noted this noise continued, and within a few days, I noticed that I had to add coolant to the system. I left several messages for my insurance adjuster, but my calls were not returned for some time. After a few weeks, the need to add coolant increased from once every week or ten days to every few days. As this loss of coolant increase, the high pitched whistle vanished.
I was finally able to contact my insurance agent and he contacted Kelly Cadillac. I was instructed to bring my vehicle into their shop and did so on May 19. After an inspection, Kelly informed me of a litany of problems they had found with the vehicle. The crossover manifold was alleged to be leaking and needed its gaskets replaced. I was also told that my radiator was the source of the coolant leak, and that radiator leaks and crossover manifold gasket leaks were "very common" problems in pre 2002 Cadillacs equipped with Northstar engines. Kelly also informed me that they did not consider any of my problems to be the result of accident damage, therefore, they would not make good on anything else.
When I brought my vehicle in for an estimate, I was assured repeatedly of the highest quality service and a promise to "throughly inspect" the vehicle was any damage that was not readily apparent. Since the radiator leak was "plainly visible" to the mechanic on May 19, why was it not visible to a "thorough inspection" during the repair process? I do not expect Kelly to be responsible for the crossover manifold leak (if such a leak actually exists). However, the radiator did not leak prior to the accident, and since the brittle nature of these radiators is apparently well known to GM dealers, why was the radiator not carefully check for any shock damage from the accident? While I am not ASE certified, I am fairly competent in things of a mechanical nature. I believe the high pitched whistle was in fact a small radiator leak forcing air out of the cooling system. I further believe that this leak was caused by shock from the accident and a "thorough inspection" should have detected this leak. A vacuum leaks makes a distinctive hissing sound, not a whistle. I believe Kelly knew what the problem was, but chose to not take care of the situation.
Since May 19, my air conditioning system has also stopped working, but Kelly Cadillac has denied any wrongdoing, and has claimed that all the problems are due to my vehicle's age. If there is anyone who has ideas for what I can do, let me know.
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